A new desalinated feature category saw an additional 37 beers submitted across packaged and draught.

The best beers from eight individual categories were pooled together for the final tasting to determine the Grand Champion Beer for 2019.

James Beasley and Brennan Fielding from Burleigh Brewing

Burleigh Brewing founder and brewer Brennan Fielding said that he was honoured to have received the award.

As part of the award, Burleigh Brewing also received a $5,000 education bursary for the opportunity to develop a beer educational experience. The prize may be used for travel, training and education and is aimed at increasing industry growth and development.

Capalaba-based Bacchus Brewing Company won the 2019 Champion Beer Utilising Desalinated Water for its Belgian Mocha Stout, also picking up an education bursary this time valued at $10,000.

RQFWS Beer Advisory Group member and judge Steve Henderson said he was surprised to see four of the 14 gold medals awarded to desalinated beers.

“It’s very unusual for brewers to use desalinated water, so to have four gold medals among the desalinated entries is impressive and really says something about how important water is in brewing,” Henderson said.

The $10,000 and $5,000 bursaries are unique in Australian competitions, giving brewers access to resources to train their staff by sending them to events like Australia’s BrewCon or the Craft Brewers Conference in the US, or to undertake other skills-development activities.

Below are the 2019 Trophy winners. The full results catalogue is now available here.